Once Upon a Normal
by Ren Kayashima
Summary: Magic had come to a world without it, and ever since it had been calling Baelfire's name. Summoning him.
1. Prologue

Author: Ren Kayashima

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time belongs to the creative team of Horowitz and Kitsis. Thank them for such a compelling show.

0o0o0o0

Prologue:

Baelfire had gone by "Bae" for almost his entire life, but never more so than when he found himself in a world without magic. He had found himself somewhere outside the city of San Francisco, a large city with many weird sights to see, and wonders to ponder. It didn't take him very long to discover that Baelfire was a truly unusual name in this world, so he just went by Bae.

He had been walking the streets at fifteen years old when a woman by the name of Julia had invited him into her home. She had given him clothes, a bed, a warm meal, and all the love in her heart. Despite the fact that he had no past in this world, and no family, no record of existing, Julia had been kind. She had gotten him into a school (such a thing didn't exist for the son of a poor spinner). For twenty-nine years, he had experienced a normal life. No magic, no Dark One, no "Fairy Tale" Land (something he had learned to call his old land). He was truly normal in this world.

Twenty-nine years later, and Bae still enjoyed his normal life. He had met Colby, he had fallen in love with a rare beauty, and he had two amazing children as a result of it. He lived his life with Colby, thinking about how they would grow old together, only to have life intervene in the cruelest way, but not before Colby had given him the gift of fatherhood. A chance to experience normal in a whole new light.

Normal life wasn't spent living in fear. It wasn't spent hiding away from the world because his father was an evil force to be reckoned with. Normal life was spending the evening with his two children, watching the television, or taking walks at the nearby park.

Bae couldn't have asked for much more, even if he did want his father a little bit. But his father had let go. His father didn't want to be normal. His father had been corrupted by magic's temptation, leaving Bae to fend for himself in a new world.

Not once did Bae ever think that he would feel magic's influence in the air again. After all, he had been told that he would go to a world where magic didn't exist.

But one day, he had felt it. It coursed through the air like ripples in a lake. It shook his entire body that day, and he knew that something had happened, something that could only happen if his father was involved.

Magic had come to a world without it, and ever since it had been calling Baelfire's name. Summoning him.

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: I started writing this last week after pondering it and fleshing it out in my brain for a couple months, and now it won't really leave me alone. So I said to hell with any possible canon and decided to post this on fanfiction. I'm not sure what's going to happen with canon and the episodes, but I'm not one to back down from an idea. There are going to be a couple of OC's and this story will focus on Rumpel and Bae reuniting and a bit of an adventure.

Leave me a review if you so desire.

Ren


	2. Chapter One

Author: Ren Kayashima

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time belongs to the creative team of Horowitz and Kitsis. Thank them for such a compelling show.

0o0o0o0

Chapter One:

"Dad?"

The distant voice echoed in Bea's head as he slowly came back to reality. He blinked a couple times to focus his eyes on the paperwork in front of him. Blowing out a sigh, he forced a kind smile and looked up. "Yes, Lainey?" he asked earnestly.

Lainey Fairchild stood in front of her dad with concern written all over her face. Bae figured she walked into the dining room to find her father staring blankly into space. Judging by the clock above the fire place, he had zoned out for ten minutes.

This seemed to be happening a lot lately. Ever since he had felt magic's pull. Baelfire had felt his mind wandering back to thoughts of Fairy Tale Land and the life he had, the friends he near forgot, and the father who had let go. It wasn't like it was unusual for him to think of Rumplestiltskin, but he hadn't thought about The Dark One. The man his father had become to save him from war.

Bae pushed himself out of his seat and walked over to his daughter, rubbing her shoulders carefully. He rested his head on top of hers, taking in a deep breath as he tried to focus on reality. "Are you ready for a break from school?"

"You mean our little chance to bond as a family?" Lainey asked with a smile. She stepped away from her dad, pulling her thick brown hair out of her face so that she could adjust the simple necklace she wore.

Bae laughed lightly, effectively shaking away the foreboding that he had been feeling temporarily. "Why don't you go get your brother, and we'll go get some dinner at that Korean place you love so much." He ran a hand through his now thinning brown hair and looked around his small living room. It had been a small disaster for several weeks. So much had happened recently with exams for both Lainey and Lucas. The two were always running around the flat yelling at each other about something that had been lost only to find it a few minutes later. Work wasn't much help either. Crime in Washington D.C. never seemed to end, and the paperwork was endless. But that was going to stop for a couple weeks when Bae took his children on a small camping trip.

"Sure, Dad," Lainey smiled. She disappeared down the long hallway, leaving her father to do whatever it was that he needed to do.

Bae ignored the paperwork he had been looking at and moved to the kitchen. He stopped by a small notebook computer and looked at the map he had pulled up. The state of Maine looked small and unimpressive as a standard geographical map, but Bae knew what Maine hid.

When Magic pulled at him, calling him towards something more, Maine seemed like the right place to go. He never looked anywhere else. He looked at Maine because it felt right. It was the world that called to him. And he knew then that he would never be able to escape magic or his father. He had to wonder if he could ignore the calls. His daughter had already seen him consumed by thoughts of Fairy Tale Land, The Dark One, and to an extent his old home.

But he couldn't allow his children to be drawn into _that_ world. He had spent the last year of his time in Fairy Tale Land afraid of his father, and before that he was afraid of the Ogre Wars, of Dragons and monsters that haunted his dreams. He couldn't have his children ever know the truth of his life before San Francisco, before Colby, and before he had moved on to his idea of normal. He swore that he would protect them from evil when they had been born, and again when their mother died. He only wanted what was best for them, and Fairy Tale Land wasn't it.

0o0o0o0

"Something is wrong with Dad," Lainey said two days later, her green eyes staring out the window of her twin brother's bedroom window. She could see the Washington Monument in the distance. Her arms were crossed across her chest and her ankles were crossed. She kept her balance by making sure her shoulder was braced against the wall.

Lucas leaned back in his desk chair and slid his gaze to look at Lainey. "So you noticed the increased far off look in his eyes, too?" He grabbed a stress ball off his desk and tossed it up in the air. "Maybe he's just trying to wrap his head around us going to college?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Lainey narrowed her eyes as she turned her head to look at her brother. Try as she might, she couldn't see her father's behavior being related to their journey into the world of college life. It was something else. She heard him muttering at night about something that obviously agitated him. She couldn't put her finger on it though, and it bothered her. She had been unable to find out what he was muttering to himself, but she always caught the occasional curse. She pushed herself off the wall and sat down on Lucas' bed. "Whatever it is, it has Dad all hot and bothered," she said. She rested her chin in the palm of her hand as she blew out a sigh. "If Mom were around, she would get him to open up about whatever it is."

"Mom's dead, Lainey. She can't help us," Lucas said somberly. He snapped his fingers and smirked. "Here's an idea. Why don't you just ask him what's going on?"

Lainey scoffed at the mere thought of getting her dad to open up to her. He had always kept a part of him hidden, as if it was the only way to keep them protected. "If only it were that easy," she muttered. After a few minutes of restless silence, she grumbled incoherently and stood up. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

"I highly doubt I'll need you, dear sister, but I'll keep that in mind," Lucas smiled; he tossed his stress ball once more.

Lainey left the room and walked down the hallways towards her own bedroom. She paused by the door to her father's bedroom when she heard more muttering.

"Storybrooke," Bae spoke to himself, his footsteps quick and light as he paced a small portion of his room. "Why? Why are you here? You let go."

Lainey frowned as she quietly moved to her door. She didn't want to stay too long if it meant her father had caught on to her nosiness. It had been painted a chalkboard black and had several random scribbles of musings, dates, and the start to a story. She pushed her door open and fell face forward onto her bed. If she could only figure out what was bothering her father, she would feel a lot better.

Turning over on her back, she pulled her cell phone from her front pocket and quickly typed out a message. _I might need your help in the future. Papa is acting weird and I'd really love not to lose him, too. _

The reply that came brought a smile to Lainey's lips. _Adventure is in the wind, dear Lainey. Call me should there be any suspicious developments on the home front._

"Storybrooke?" Lainey whispered. She raised an eyebrow curiously. "It's a start."

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Meet the Fairchilds. I wanted Baelfire to have the traditional sense of normal: wife, kids, a job where he got to be the hero. But normal isn't always happy. Obviously, Bae is acting a little fishy and his children can see it. I really am having a lot of fun writing this even if it's not my usual cup of tea.

Drop me a review if you get a chance.

Ren


	3. Chapter Two

0o0o0o0

Chapter Two:

Bae turned his SUV off before sliding out from behind the driver's seat. Six hours of driving had led to this beautiful piece of the New York Catskills. He looked at the simple campsite he had been eagerly looking forward to. He couldn't convince his daughter to rough it with a tent and sleeping bags, so the two bedroom cabin and kitchenette was required in the eyes of nineteen-year-old girl. He couldn't argue with her when she said that she would cook all of his favorite meals. His son was only happy if an internet connection followed. Sure enough, each cabin was equipped with Wi-Fi. His children would never know the simple things that made his life comfortable growing up. There was no electricity, only fire.

He grinned when he saw Lucas pull up in his own Jeep. The head of a large Newfoundland hung out the bag, panting happily. The Jeep pulled to a stop and Lainey jumped out to greet her father. She jumped up slight and gave him a big hug.

"How was your drive?" Bae asked. He looked towards the Jeep to see his son opening the back for the massive dog to jump out.

"Lucifer took up the back seat so I didn't really get to sleep much," Lainey answered.

"Well, Lucifer is a big dog," Bae stated suppressing a grin as the dog galloped over, pulling Lucas along. The Newfoundland only seemed to obey Lainey's command.

"All right, help me unload the SUV, and we can get settled in for a couple weeks in the middle of the all of this beautiful scenery."

Lucas grimaced as he stumbled along behind the dog. "I don't see it," he grumbled.

Lainey giggled as she ran to back of her father's SUV. She opened the back and stared at the well-organized stack of boxes and suitcases. An entire day went into making sure everything they would need would fit in the back of Bae's SUV. Lainey pulled at a neon green suitcase until it fell to the dry dirt in front of her.

Bae pulled out the key he had been given when they entered the campgrounds. As he walked up to the front door, he smirked as he heard Lucas yell as Lainey to take Lucifer from him. Family vacations always started like this. Bitter squabbling started the minute they got out of the car, but by day two, everyone was laughing as they played board games, took hikes, and cooked dinner. It was a routine like everything else, and Bae always seemed to enjoy this routine more than most. With the kids on break before they went back to school, he had some precious time with them, and at least in the Catskills they weren't surrounded by as many distractions. He still had to deal with computers. But at least their cell phones wouldn't work.

Pushing open the door to the cabin, Bae was met with a musty smell that told him the cabin hadn't really gotten much attention recently. He quickly stepped in, leaving the door open to get some fresh air moving through the small space.

The cabin, while small, still had two bedrooms. One bedroom had a queen sized bed and would have been meant for Bae if Lainey was perhaps a little younger. As it stood, Lucas and Lainey were liable to kill each other if they had to share the other bedroom with two extra-long twin sized beds. Also given the remarkably long time women seemed to take in the bathroom getting ready, maybe the queen bed and attached bath were a good idea. Lucas and Bae could be done in the morning using the separate bathroom before Lainey even considered showing herself in the morning.

The kitchenette came with a fridge, stove top, sink and a microwave with some cupboards above to hold dishes. A large downgrade from the updated kitchen Bae's wife had wanted so much. The Formica counter tops and dated white fridge here couldn't even begin to compare to the granite countertops and stainless steel back home.

Lucas stepped in and wrinkled his nose with the smell. He had thrown his backpack over his shoulder and pushed his red suitcase into the main living room. "This place reeks."

Lainey pushed past her brother and stopped next to a long couch. She held Lucifer's leash loosely, pointing at the dog to sit. She looked around with a small smile on her lips. "I think it's charming. Not home, of course, but it's got that rugged, log cabin feel about it. You know, with running water, and Wi-Fi." She sat down on the couch and sniffed at the air. "We should probably open some windows though."

Bae nodded, clapping his hands together to get the two teenager's attention. "Then let's get started. Lainey, you're going to put stuff away while Lucas and I unload. After we're done, we'll take an hour to just get settled in before a hike in the woods. How does that sound?"

Lucas gave his father a half-assed salute before turning on his heels to leave the cabin. Bae shook his head, suppressing a smirk. The day had only just begun and jokes were already being thrown about.

0o0

Bae pushed open Lainey's bedroom door, looking in. The side table lamp was still on, but Lainey was asleep. She was in her Berkeley t-shirt and some pajama shorts. She had fallen asleep while reading a worn out copy of _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. Lucifer snored quietly on the other half of the bed.

Letting Lainey go to college early had been something Bae and Colby had debated for several months, but they couldn't just stop her. She was stubborn, just like her mother, intelligent, too. She had plunged headfirst into college at the age of sixteen and had been working hard for three years to finish a degree a full year ahead of the four year mark. Summer classes, full credit loads, and very little time for social endeavors had paid off. But for what? She was nineteen, and spent her days reading manuscripts at a small publishing firm in the middle of central D.C.. She hardly left the house, choosing instead to immerse herself in books, art, and other "cultural matters of importance".

It had been like this since Colby died. Bae didn't push her to go out, but he sometimes thought that he should have pushed her a little bit.

Bae walked over to the lamp to turn it off and saw that Lainey had been wearing the necklace he had given her when she left for the other side of the country. It was a trusty little amulet that had been given to him by his mother back in Fairy Tale Land. He had been told that it would protect him from the evils of the world, so he told his own daughter that when she went to brave the chaotic lifestyle he had experienced when he lived in San Francisco with Julie Fairchild, the only mother figure he could actually say he knew. Lainey had family in the Bay Area, but a father still worried, so he gave her the necklace.

Bae reached a hand out tucking some of Lainey's loose hair behind an ear. He turned and left the room, taking the few steps into his own room.

Lucas was sitting up on his bed, typing quickly. Lucas was concrete thinker, finding sense in machines. He liked to tinker and make creative little inventions that seemed to have more bells and whistles than the last one. Lucas looked up and smiled. "Lainey fell asleep reading again, didn't she?"

"She always does," Bae smiled. He blew out a sigh as he shook his head. "What are you working on now?"

"A piece of code," Lucas answered. "I finally got around to fixing one of my early programs. The number game one."

"Your first one?" Bae asked.

Lucas nodded, closing his laptop. "But, I just fixed it, so I'm going to head to bed."

Bae nodded as he sat on his bed. He cracked his knuckles one by one as he stared at the floor contemplatively.

"Lainey's worried, you know," Lucas stated as he pulled his black comforter over him. "She thinks you're hiding something from us."

Bae looked up and forced a smile. "I'm okay," he answered. He looked at the gold band on his ring finger. He couldn't help that maybe things would have been just the slightest bit easier if his wife was around. She had always been able to chase away thoughts of Fairy Tale Land. "Just promise me something okay."

"Anything," Lucas said eagerly. Promises were sacred in this family. Once you made them, you couldn't break them.

"If anything happens to me, take care of Lainey," Bae said quietly. "She's smart, but she had little experience in the real world unlike you and me. She'd walk into the middle of a gun fight to ask for directions."

Lucas frowned and shook his head. Maybe Lainey was right. Something was most certainly wrong with their dad. "She can handle herself, dad. We both can. We're not little kids anymore."

"Promise me, Lucas," Bae said firmly.

"I promise!" Lucas nodded. "I'm just saying that Lainey isn't the little princess she used to be. After mom died-" He pulled the comforter up to his head as he laid down. He narrowed his eyes as his father before turning around to face the wall.

"Good night, Lucas," Bae interrupted, stopping the conversation as he stood up to leave the room.

0o0o0o0

Rumplestiltskin stood by the border of Storybrooke, glancing around bitterly. If he stepped one foot out of the border, he would forget. Forgetting wasn't something he could afford to do. He would forget Belle, he would forget Baelfire. Everything would just be gone.

He couldn't go out looking for Baelfire. That much was true. He was stuck here in Storybrooke, and he just had to figure out what had to be done. But he had created the curse to find Bae. He couldn't put it in play himself because all that he cherished had been taken away from him. At least that's what he had thought. Regina had told him Belle had killed herself. Bae had disappeared when he dropped that magic bean. He had lost the two things that mattered, but at least by making the curse he had a chance of getting one back.

Rumplestiltskin turned away from the border and limped back over to his car. He needed to go back to the pawnshop. He had nearly everything from his old life back there. What he needed would surely be found there. He had a plan simmering in the back of his mind. He knew he could get it work. He was, after all, the most powerful man in the world. He had bottled true love; he had created a curse that had taken nearly all of Fairy Tale Land to a new world.

Upon reaching the pawnshop, he entered quietly, knowing that Belle was in the back reading her fair share of books. He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and hobbled over to a black chest hidden away against the wall. He opened the chest and stared at the wide assortment of clothes and some leather goods.

Rumplestiltskin pulled out a small leather pouch and loosened the ties around it. Tipping the bag over, a small pendant and leather necklace fell out into the palm of his hand. It was a necklace he remembered so well. It was the second half of a charm Bae's mother had given him. He knew for a fact that Bae had never taken it off while they lived together. Bae had kept it to remember his mother even after she had left.

Rumplestiltskin clutched the pendant tightly and blew out a sigh. He didn't care about anything else at that moment.

If he couldn't go out and find Bae, he was going to have Bae find him. Rumplestiltskin was about to perform his greatest piece of magic since he forged the curse that had brought everyone to Maine.

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Well, did you like it? I'm actually really excited to start the next chapter. As soon as I can get some work done on University apps, I'll start on the next chapter. This is a fun little story to work on. I'm not sure why, but I really wanted to have Gold Grandchildren, especially ones who were raised by the moral hero, Baelfire.

Drop me a review if you get the chance to. I love seeing all of the alerts for this story. It makes me feel like I'm doing something right. If you have something constructive to say, feel free. I'm open to criticism. I couldn't stand my college teachers if I wasn't. :P

Ren


	4. Chapter Three

Author: Ren Kayashima

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time belongs to the creative team of Horowitz and Kitsis. Thank them for such a compelling show.

0o0o0o0

Chapter Three:

Bae stood in the middle of the woods, taking a deep breath as he lifted his recurve bow up so that he could line it up with the target he had crudely nailed to a large tree. While he had never been much of a hunter, his children had somehow gained an interest in archery after their mother told them stories of her youth, hunting with her own parents in the middle of Texas. Since then, they had spent years shooting at foam targets, turning it into a group activity that they could all enjoy, minus taking the life of an innocent woodland creature. Lainey simply wouldn't stand for such nonsense, and Lucas didn't really see the point when the local grocery stores sold beef, pork, chicken, duck…

Bae felt his arm waver and he dropped the bow as he slowly canceled the draw.

"You waited too long," Lucas sighed, lifting his own bow up and taking only a second to aim. He released the arrow. The swish of the arrow flying through the air brought a smile to the teen's face. Right in the nine point ring next to the three other arrows he had shot.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Lainey stated dully. She had given up shooting her own bow when Lucas had whispered in her ear and she ended up missing a shot. As long as Lucas was going to distract her, she would be unable to get any sort of clustering on target practice. She wasn't able to focus in a world of distractions. Well, she could listen to music and separate by delving into a book, but when she was wielding a deadly weapon, distractions were dangerous. She looked up at her from her spot on the ground. "Something on your mind, Dad?" she asked.

"I was just thinking about the first time I picked up a bow with your mother," Bae answered. He lifted his bow again and quickly let the string go. He had been intentionally aiming for the two point ring. Clusters in target practice were much more important than the occasional ten. "We were at Hudson's Hunting Store. She thought it would be a fun date, so we spent the night working on getting the highest score. Colby beat me by one point. Guns were too loud to really socialize, so we looked at Archery."

Lainey picked at her nails with a small frown on her face. She pushed herself off the ground and dusted her jeans off. "I'm going to go for a walk around the woods," she said with a huff. She took her and small quiver as she walked away. She stumbled slightly on the uneven ground until she got her pace even and her footing steady.

Blowing out a breath, she looked up at the sky with a smile. She could only ever feel at peace like this when she was reading some fantasy or creating her own adventures. The woods were quiet, the smells that greeted her at every turn relaxing, and they made her feel safe. She had always felt exposed in open land. If there wasn't something to hide behind or under, how could she feel safe?

There was a slight breeze that came whistling through the tall trees and Lainey pulled her hair out of its ponytail.

Lainey kept her attention focused on the ground not wanting to miss a tree branch or other forest hazards. She hummed quietly as she twisted slightly to avoid a branch that stuck out. Carefully, she paused and pulled an arrow from her quiver. Her pink and blue fletchings were made of a flexible plastic. As she properly knocked her arrow she lifted her bow up slowly so she could take aim.

Lainey released her arrow as she jumped in fright. She looked around, searching for the noise that had broken her concentration. It had sounded like whispers, but they had been too loud, too close. She was sure that she would have noticed anyone else in the woods. She grabbed another arrow and set it up once more. "Hello?" she asked, looking around cautiously.

More whispers filled the open clearing, but Lainey couldn't make out words. They were just loud mutterings.Lainey turned around as she lifted her arrow up carefully. Still, she couldn't find anything that could explain the shout. She couldn't place a direction for the disembodied male voice. There weren't birds flying in the air, no movement in the woods. Everything that would have told her that someone was nearby was curiously absent. Lainey moved her fingers from the bow string and touched her father's pendent nervously.

She felt a shock run through her fingers and straight up her arm, causing her body to freeze up. Before she could pull her hand away, she felt her knees grow weak, and her vision became foggy. She curled up in pain on the ground, waiting for something that was sure to come. It came in that same voice. This time only one word came out clear: _Baelfire._

0o0

January 20, 2012

Lainey stood outside Lawrence and Simpson Publishing, waiting. She was wrapped up in a black duffel coat and she kept her plaid scarf wound around her neck tightly. She looked around expectantly, as she bobbed her leg to music that played through the set of headphones.

A silver Civic came cruising to a stop and Lainey grinned. She hopped off the curb and opened the door so she could slide into the passenger seat. Leaning over the gear shift, she gave the woman behind the wheel a kiss on the cheek. "Hi, Mom," she greeted. "Thank you for picking me up."

"Now why wouldn't I?" Colby Fairchild smiled. Her long curly brown hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail. In the twilight, her green eyes were slightly dimmer, but they still held a hint of an excited light in them. "My daughter is finishing up her final year of college and her internship is being bumped up to an actual job. It's time to celebrate."

Lainey looked out the window as her mother pulled away from the curb. Lawrence and Simpson had two offices. One in San Francisco and another in D.C.. A family friend managed to get her an internship for her three years of schooling, and now that she was close to the finish, she had a chance of getting a job. "You didn't have to come all the way from home, though," Lainey sighed. "I know that Luke was kind of in a sour mood before you left because Jessica broke up with him."

Colby nodded. "I wouldn't worry about your brother," she said. "He's resilient, and Jessica was just a ship passing in the night. There are always-"

"Mom, please, you can't start spouting those terrible clichés," Lainey groaned as she covered up the laugh that escaped her mouth. She kicked off her ankle boots and made sure that her toes were right under the heating vent. "Just… When you go back home, can you make sure he's okay? He's all bitter right now when I try to talk to him."

"Oh, sweetie, he just needs some time to get over his broken heart," Colby said quietly. She kept her eyes on the road, but she reached out to rub Lainey's thigh comfortingly. "Love is both magical and tragic sometimes."

"You don't think he actually loved her, do you?" Lainey asked skeptically.

Colby shook her head. "No, but when you break up with someone, it sure seems like it sometimes," she answered knowingly. She looked at the red light in front of her by leaning forwards slightly in her seat. "But one day, he'll find someone. Just like I found your father. Baelfire is my other half, Jessica just wasn't Lucas'."

Lainey looked towards her mother as the light turned green. She could feel the car slightly pull forward as she observed her mother's light smile. Lainey grinned only to have her face crumble as she saw two really bright headlights and heard a loud horn. "Mom!" Lainey shouted.

0o0

"Lainey!" Bae shouted shaking his daughter's shoulders as she lay on the ground. He had only come to let her know that they were headed back to the cabin. He never expected to find her passed out on the hard ground. She was just laying there, knees bent from when she felt, her hand that held her bow lay open. "Come on, sweetie. Wake up." He put a hand under Lainey's head, there wasn't a bump, leaving him to wonder what had caused her to collapse. Fatigue? Some mysterious neurological issue?

Lucas stood at a distance, watching warily. He held both his and his father's bow close. Bae looked up and waved at him. "Go back to the cabin. I need you to call 911."

Almost as if she could sense the urgency, Lainey shot up, eyes wide. "Mom!" she screamed, reaching a hand out. Bae wrapped his arms around her to keep her from moving too much. He started to run a hand up and down her back.

"Lainey, it's okay," Bae said quietly. He could feel the way she shook in fright. "What happened?" he asked, trying to look her in the eyes only to find her bangs blocking his view.

Lainey blinked as she looked around the forest. "I- I- I don't know," she answered, stuttering as she tried to find her words. She looked at her dad and hugged him close. "Mom… It happened again."

Bae blew out a sigh of relief as he squeezed Lainey tightly. "Its okay, Lainey," he cajoled her. He heard Lucas come up behind him and Bae glanced back with a slight smile. "Are you hurt?" He started looking her over for any further injuries. He couldn't see blood, no limbs looked like they were out of place, from what he could see, Lainey wasn't hurt.

Lainey shook her head to confirm his suspicions. "I'm okay," she said. "I don't know what happened. I was just walking and… that's it."

Bae quickly lifted Lainey up and took a moment to get his bearings on the uneven ground. "Let's get you back to the cabin," he said. He nodded to Lucas. "Can you get her bow and quiver?"

"Sure, Dad," Lucas muttered. He quickly gathered Lainey's belonging and followed his dad, trying to keep up.

"You don't have to carry me," Lainey protested weakly, resting her head on Bae's chest. "I'm okay," she said as she closed her eyes again.

"Just let Dad carry you, Lainey," Lucas said loudly. "The more he dotes on you, the less he'll worry."

Bae kept his hold on Lainey as he stumbled on. So Lainey was having the nightmares again. The nightmare where she saw her mom die again. Just after the accident, Lainey spent two months with little sleep because of those nightmares. She would wake up Julia Fairchild with screams for her mother. He only had to wonder what had brought the nightmares back. "What do you want for dinner?" Bae asked.

"Soup," Lainey answered simply.

"See, she's okay," Lucas said. "She loves soup, cold soup, warm soup, hot soup, spicy soup, sweet soup. If it's soup, she'll eat it."

Lainey tried to look at her dad. "Dad," she started. "I'm sorry I worried you."

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Midterms are out of the way, but I still have a few research papers to complete. With that being said, I'll admit that I was iffy on this chapter. So if you feel like something should be addressed, let me know. I'm also trying to be better about replying to reviews. With school they sometimes get forgotten amidst the essays, tests, and readings. I'm sorry about it.

Leave me a review if you get the chance.

Ren


	5. Chapter Four

Author: Ren Kayashima

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time belongs to the creative team of Horowitz and Kitsis. Thank them for such a compelling show.

0o0o0o0

Chapter Four:

Rumplestiltskin clenched his fists as he stared at his fireplace. He sat in one of the wingback chairs he owned, his mouth set in a tight line as he contemplated his current circumstance. Two weeks. It had been two weeks since he had cast a spell he was sure would bring Baelfire to him, and nothing had happened. Nothing.

How could this be? The Dark One was one of the most powerful magical beings. This should have worked. Bae should have been standing in front of him within a short amount of time. It shouldn't take two weeks. Something wasn't right. Did he need to conduct another spell? He shook his head. He couldn't always rely on magic. He was trying to get back into Belle's good graces. Rumplestiltskin had been completely dependent on magic when it came to getting his son back. Magic was keeping him here, so magic was the only way he would be reunited with his son, with Baelfire.

Rumplestiltskin pushed himself out of his chair and made his way towards the basement. He had to keep trying. He needed Baelfire to come back. This was something that had to happen. After Milah left, Bae was all he had. He watched his son grow up, and when the threat of losing him seemed imminent, Rumplestiltskin had done everything her could do to prevent that from happening. He became The Dark One to protect his son. Now, he was willing to pay magic's price to have Bae back in his life.

Rumplestiltskin entered the basement and picked up some of the gold that he had spun. Gold was important for some of his spells. For other spells, gold simply wouldn't cut it. Sometimes he would need something else, like strands of hair from two lovers who couldn't be ripped a part.

He grabbed some more crucial ingredients and lit a fire under a small pewter cauldron. He would have to wait a little bit, but he would have a ready spell by morning. One more spell had to be done. He couldn't avoid it. For some reason, the price that Rumplestiltskin had wanted to pay didn't work, leaving the spell ineffective.

He grabbed an empty vial and placed it next to the cauldron so that he would have a ready-made container for a finished potion. He smirked when he saw the cauldron start to smoke and bubble.

"It's all coming together now," he whispered.

0o0o0o0

Bae blew out a sigh when he entered his home. He listened carefully for any indications that someone was in the house. When he was only met with the quiet ticking of a wall clock and the sound of the ice maker in his freezer, he smiled, stepping into the foyer. He had just come to grab some food for a long night at the precinct. Some paperwork had to get done, and he had just been approved for the overtime to do it. The entire precinct was catching up on paperwork because paperwork because of its importance in homicide cases. If it wasn't reported correctly, a case could fall apart, letting murderers go free.

Bae moved over to the kitchen and paused by the breakfast bar where a sketchbook had been left out by Lainey. He knew that his daughter would spend some time in the morning sketching out a few things as she let her mind wander. She would disappear for a couple hours on the weekend and come back with sketches of buildings, people, animals, and flowers. He ignored the sketchbook, instead moving to the fridge.

After their camping trip, Bae had been working near nonstop at the precinct on some cases that had been brought to him from records. They had gone cold at some point in the history of MPD, and each detective was tasked with a couple cases to look at and run some checks for updates. A fresh set of eyes may allow a break in a case.

Despite the constant work schedule, Bae had been checking in on his kids every second he could. He couldn't explain the feeling he had, but it was like the hairs on the back of his neck, the ones that warned him, hadn't once lain down. The magic he had felt all those months ago had started to come back. Just as he thought that he had escaped its influence, its calling, magic had popped up again. What concerned him most of all was the inherent danger her felt when it came to the safety of his children. He had found Lainey passed out in the woods, and a week later, Lucas had dislocated his wrist without reason. The unexplained was happening, and his children were the ones that suffered.

Bae pushed those ominous thoughts out of his mind, grabbing a Tupperware container of Lainey's fried rice and sausage. All he had to do was pop it in the microwave and he would be set. He moved back to the bar and opened Lainey's sketch book to the bookmarked page and he had to step back.

A sketched out wooden sign that read "_Welcome to Storybrooke"_ had been put in one corner of the page, and a unique, familiar dagger in another. _Rumplestiltskin. _The word was a bad omen in itself. How had she known about his father? He had long ago decided never to tell his kids about him. Only three people knew his father's name.

And what about Storybrooke. How did she know about that town? The town with magic. The town where his father lived under another name.

He took a moment to look at the other sketches. His necklace, the one that his mother gave him before she left him, the one that now belonged to Lainey, hung around the neck of a small boy. A boy Bae should have known all too well. It was his face, the face of a boy who had idolized his father the spinner, the boy who had watched his friends disappear to fight the ogre wars. The boy who had made a deal with his father, only to see it broken at the last second.

Bae turned over a page moving back towards the front of the sketch book. There were sketches of his father as a regular man. He came across a sketch of the Blue Fairy. He paused on a sketch of the menacing grin that marred the face of The Dark One. He could hear the giggle of glee as it surged forward from the depths of his mind. These were memories he tried to forget.

With his jaw set in a dead line, Bae abandoned the book and the fried rice. He ignored the loud barking that came from his backyard where Lucifer pawed franticly at the door. He had to fix this. He couldn't let his children get pulled into that world.

Marching to his room, he grabbed a duffel bag from the hall closet. He had come to one conclusion. He had to go to Storybrooke to confront his father, The Dark One. It was the only way he could see keeping his kids from magic's reach. If he talked to his father, then maybe he could return to his life as a father.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the personal line to his captain. He wouldn't be able to go into the precinct. Maine was a twelve hour drive. "Captain Forbes," Bae started when line picked up. "I have a family emergency to take care of. . . No, I'm not sure of all the details yet, but I'll call to let you know if I get any answers . . . Yes, the kids are okay. . . Thank you, sir."

Without any care or reason, Bae tossed whatever clothes he would need into the duffel bag. He checked his watch as he zipped up the bag. If he drove all night, he would reach Maine by morning. He paused when he tried to come up with anything else he would need. Walking over to the night stand by his bed, he grabbed a photo of his wife and children. It was something he looked at every night before he went to bed. By doing this, his kids would be with him giving him strength.

"Why no?" Bae muttered to himself.

0o0o0o0

Avery Lawrence looked into the small over crowded office that he shared with the most recent employee of Lawrence and Simpson Publishing. While he was just the young face of the publishing crowd, he was still trying to prove himself. This meant sharing an office and acting as a secondary editor for several authors who submitted their work.

He stepped in to see his coworker Lainey sketching in a book. He came up behind her and stared at the mixed collage of drawings, and the large name that had been positioned at the top. "You know," he started with a smirk. "We have an art department that creates our book covers," he explained.

Lainey jumped in her seat and turned around. "Avery!" she exclaimed smacking a hand out. "How many times have I told you that I don't like to be snuck up on?"

"I reckon this is the sixteenth time now," Avery laughed backing up so that he wasn't in Lainey's reach. "What's Baelfire? I don't think I've seen a manuscript around here with that title. Is it a spell for one of our fantasies?"

Lainey looked at the word and blew out a sigh. "I think he's my dad," she answered, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "I've been having these weird dreams lately. It kind of reminds me of those studies that say dreams are your mind trying to sort through all of this data you've collected. Like my minds trying to make sense of something that I'm unaware of. But I could just bereading too much though. The downside of being an editor, I guess," she said with a shrug.

Avery leaned against the long back shelf behind Lainey's desk and tried to suppress a scoff. "You can never read too much," he said. He got on his tip toes slightly to look at some of the sketches. "But your dad's name is Bae. Not Baelfire," Avery said. He pointed a finger at the sketch of a man in a cloak. "What's the deal with lizard-face?"

Lainey looked at the sketch, at the toad-like skin and the fiendish eyes. "It's The Dark One, Rumplestiltskin," she answered.

"The I'm-going-to-take-your-first-born-and-fly-away-on-a-magic-ladle guy… imp?" Avery asked, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. Lainey had always been one to present him with a puzzle, but this was just a tad bit odder than anything else she had come up with. He stepped forward and grabbed the steaming cup of tea that Lainey had sitting next to her. "No more caffeine, all right. I think it's messing with those brain cells of yours. Besides, shouldn't you be headed home?" Avery looked around the crowded office dismally. There was a lot of work to be done.

Lainey looked at her desktop computer and bit the inside of her cheek. "If I hurry, and can get the right train to my neighborhood." She stood up and started packing up her things. She looked around at the stacks of manuscripts and let out a groan. With all the dreams and sketches, she hadn't been working as fast as she was used to doing.

Avery smiled as he watched her look around. "There's a really great Indian place nearby. Why don't we get some dinner and you can tell me about these dreams, then I'll drive you home," he offered helpfully.

"You don't have to do that. I take metro all the time," Lainey smiled, shaking her head.

"It's going to be dark soon, Metro becomes less safe with less people," Avery stated with a serious note to the last word.

Lainey looked at Avery doubtfully. After a minute of silence, she blew out a sigh and nodded. "Okay," she smiled. "But only because I'm a sucker for Indian food."

"Good to know," Avery muttered, grabbing a light sweater from the coat rack just inside the door.

0o0o0o0

Lucas grumbled as he opened the back door to his home, moving quickly to avoid being trampled by the frantic Newfoundland. He closed the door and made sure it was locked. He glanced over at his companion standing in the kitchen. "Sorry, Nat," he said quickly. "I can't believe my dad didn't pick up his phone." He looked around the semi-lit kitchen, taking in the mostly silent home.

"Isn't he normally home by now?" Nadia Evans asked. She was only a couple inches shorter than Lucas. Her long red hair had been tied out of her face in a sideways braid. She turned around and grinned happily. "But Lainey has mentioned that Daddy Fairchild is acting a little odd."

"A little?" Lucas laughed at the thought. "While camping, he practically ordered me to watch over Lainey should anything happen to him, and the next day she passed out in the woods."

"Something hinky is in the wind," Nadia murmured. "Wait… Lainey passed out in the woods!"

Lucas rolled his eyes as he picked up the Tupperware container of rice. "And this is what I get for dating my sister's best friend," he whispered. The container was warm, meaning that his father had left it out and walked off without putting it back in the fridge. He couldn't really trust anything that wasn't slightly warm so he tossed the container in the sink with the intention of running it down the garbage disposal later.

"I heard that," Nadia scowled as she walked over to Lucas. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in close so that she could kiss him lightly. She smiled only to gain a very serious look very quickly. "Now what happened to my bestie?"

Lucas shrugged, pulling Nadia close. "She had gone for a walk. She does that all the time when we're in the woods, so I didn't think much of it, but when we went to go find her, we found her passed out in the dirt. She was fine after that. She's just been sketching a lot."

Nadia looked around curiously. "I wonder what happened to your dad," she mused, turning slightly in Lucas' arms. "Have you tried calling him?"

Lucas blew out a breath and looked up at the ceiling. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Your dog was going ballistic," Nadia explained. "Lucifer only does that when something is wrong. We come inside, find rice sitting out, the dog is going barking mad, literally, and the house looks like someone went rushing through it." She waved her hands around wildly to make a point.

Lucas looked around carefully. Now that Nadia mentioned it, the house did seem to be the slightest bit messier than he had left it earlier that day. Lainey's sketch book lay open on the bar; there were a couple of coats tossed over the couch as if his dad couldn't decide on which one to bring (something he knew wasn't really his father). He pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the time.

"See," Nadia said drawing it out. "Now you're starting to see it too."

Lucas nodded and dialed Lainey, knowing that if their dad had left in a rush he would have checked in with at least one of them. "Hey, Sis," he spoke quickly. "Have you heard from dad?. . . The house is just empty and he didn't call me. . . No, you- Lainey, enjoy your dinner. I'll make a few calls. . ." Lucas blew out a defeated sigh. "See you soon."

Nadia backed away from Lucas and moved towards the discarded coats. "I'm going to hang these up. With Lainey coming, the less she sees the less she'll worry."

Lucas nodded searching through his contacts. He paused on the homicide captain's number. While he just wanted to assume that his dad was just spending a late night at the precinct, he didn't want to call and find out that his dad wasn't actually at work. Calling may even alert the homicide division that something was wrong, and this could just be a simple family matter.

"Don't call your dad's captain, Luke," Nadia said as if reading his mind. She looked over at him. "The last thing you need is to alert them to a problem that might not exist. It could be nothing."

Lucas frowned. Try as he might, he couldn't shake this off as 'nothing.'

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the brand new chapter! It's November which means it's National Novel Writing Month. While I can't write an actual book this year I am working on trying to write more during this month. Which means Updates will be frequent... I hope.

Leave a review if you get a chance, and don't forget to be honest. I like honesty.

Ren


	6. Chapter Five

Author: Ren Kayashima

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time belongs to the creative team of Horowitz and Kitsis. Thank them for such a compelling show.

0o0o0o0

Chapter Five:

Lainey barged into her home, stomping up to her brother. She stopped only a foot from him. "What happened?" she asked, narrowing her eyes as she scrutinized every single emotion that came to Luke's eyes. "Where's Dad?"

Avery poked his head in through the front door Lucifer came scampering over to greet him friendly. He crouched down and scratched the Newfoundland behind the ears. "Hey there buddy. How are you?" he asked quietly, briefly glancing up to see that Lainey hadn't backed away from her brother.

"If I knew where he was, I wouldn't have called you asking, now would I?" Luke asked taking a couple steps back. "We just kind of noticed that there's a lot out of place, and we didn't hear from Dad."

Lainey scanned the living room as she moved to the kitchen's breakfast bar. She glanced down at her sketch book and saw Rumplestiltskin's face grinning manically up at her. "I think this is my fault," she whispered, picking up the sketchbook so that she could hug it to her chest protectively. She turned to face her brother. "He hasn't really been the same since I came back from Berkeley a couple months ago."

"He was weird before that," Lucas muttered. "After mom died in January, he just got weirder, and then you came home to see it all for yourself." He said before speaking up a little. "It's been almost a year now since he started muttering and keeping secrets. Mom was worried."

Lainey shook her head. "He's never left like this," she said. She lifted the sketchbook up in her arms. "This was closed when I left for work today. I've been drawing my dreams a lot since I passed out in the woods."

"The ones where you think it's your dad?" Avery asked speaking up as he continued to pet Lucifer.

Luke looked over at Avery and rolled his eyes. "I should have figured you were out with him." He turned to face his sister as he cocked his head to the side in disbelief. Avery and Lucas had never really gotten along in the years that they had known each other.

Lainey pointed her thumb towards Nadia who had been trying to make herself small on the couch. "Oh, and you feel the right to judge me when you're dating my best friend. Really, Luke?" she asked with a scoff. She tucked her hip out to the side, raising a challenging eyebrow.

"Sibling tensions are running high today at Kitchen Stadium," Nadia said in her best impression of Alton Brown. She stood up and moved over to Lainey to give her a hug. "Hi there!" she said brightly.

Lainey hugged Nadia back and took a deep breath, relaxing in her friends arms. Nadia was always there. Through the good and the bad, they were best friends until the end of time. The two of them had been near inseparable since they were toddlers in a "Mommy and Me" class. Lainey backed up so that she could get some answers from Nadia. "What happened?"

"Lucifer has gone bonkers and your dad has gone AWOL," Nadia explained succinctly. She crossed her arms as she studied Lainey's face.

"Did he leave a note?" Avery asked, standing up as he rolled his shoulders. "I mean, your dad isn't the kind of person to just up and leave."

"News flash," Lucas stated bitterly. "He up and left." He slid his gaze towards Avery to give him a sarcastic snicker.

"Lucas, stop being an ass," Lainey snapped, walking over to the kitchen bar. She pointed at the empty space that she had left her first sketchbook. "Were you looking at my sketchbook?" she asked.

Lucas shook his head and joined his sister at the bar. "Why?"

Lainey frowned, closing her eyes as she though back to that morning and what she had been doing. Her father had left early and she was eating a bowl of cereal. "I just remember closing it is all," she said. "I remember not wanting Dad to see them, so I closed my book. He never looks though my books when they're closed.

Lucas looked at the sketches and rested a hand on the thick pages. "Why wouldn't you want Dad to see them?" He sat at the bar and glanced at his sister. She was a good artist, gifted sometimes, but everyone knew that wasn't what she wanted to do in life. She just wanted to edit manuscripts and work in a publishing firm like their mom.

"There was something about them that made me feel like he wouldn't like what he saw," Lainey answered. "The kind of feeling that speaks from the back of your mind. I don't know why, I just knew that I didn't want Dad to see them. Maybe I should have taken it with me today." She hugged herself as she bit her lip contemplatively. She was worried that her fears had come true, that her dad had seen something that made him leave.

Lucas flipped through the pages looking at some of the detailed sketches. He was starting to feel the same way Lainey did. The sketchbook was filled with things that Lainey didn't normally draw. She was much more into the cartoons, and soft edges, but some of the shops, signs, and people were more concrete and lifelike. He pointed at the sign of Storybrooke. "Do you know where this sign is, or is it even real?"

Avery stood up and walked over so that he could see the sketch over Lucas' shoulder. "Storybrooke is in Maine, isn't it? That's what you were telling me on the way to dinner."

"You were going to dinner with him!"

"Lucas, your sister can do whatever she wants. She's an adult," Nadia said soothingly. She shot a dirty look at her boyfriend.

"Maybe we shouldn't be arguing," Avery said quietly. "Your dad has disappeared without a call. Where could he have gone?"

"Maine," Lainey said, sure of herself. "He went there to confront Rumplestiltskin."

"Rumple-, Lainey, have you lost your damn mind?" Nadia asked.

"No!" Lainey snapped. "Dad's been muttering about Maine and Storybrooke, and my sketches are all of Storybrooke. He's gone there."

The room was silent and everyone was lost in their own thoughts. For a few minutes it seemed like nothing was going to be said, but then Avery looked at Lainey seriously. "How do you even know what Storybrooke looks like?"

0o0o0o0

Bae ignored the ringing of his cell phone. The tone told him that it was Lainey. She only called to talk about her day, but wouldn't call more than once if she figured he was working. He had left with them thinking that he was working on paperwork, so he had bought himself a few hours before any initial worry on his children's part reached them. He knew he shouldn't have left so suddenly and without a clue as to where he had gone, but he couldn't tell his children why he had left.

What would they understand of magic? They grew up in a world without it. There were great stories of magic, and tales that involved magic, but there was no magic in their world. This was something he knew Lainey had grown up hating. She had always hated the fact that magic wasn't real. After she found out that Santa didn't exist, her little world had been shattered. Lucas took things a little more realistically. He was the practical one, Bae had to remind himself. Even when Bae knew magic to be tangible, he still kept along with the earth-shattering realization that kids faced in this world. He didn't want his children to ever believe that there was a magical cure for anything. Hard work would get them far, not a childish hope that elves would do it for them, or that a Fairy Godmother was just waiting to send them off to a better life.

Lucas' signature ringtone pulled Bae from his thoughts, but he didn't dare reach for the device. He wouldn't answer when he was on a mission like this. He hoped that Lucas would call Lainey and ask if she had spoken to him. One phone call from each was usual. More than that, and he knew that his children had caught the scent of something amiss.

Keeping his eyes on the road, Bae went over what he knew and what he had in mind. He would have to confront the Dark One. Something that wouldn't be easy if magic had indeed been brought to this world- Bae knew it had been, he just didn't know how much. Would the Dark One be able to do all the terrible things he was capable of doing before, or was his magic limited?

Mostly he needed to find a way to fix Lainey. Something magically hinky had happened to her that night in the woods. He knew that was the trigger. She was perfectly fine before that. She was drawing things she couldn't possibly know. She was drawing parts of her father's life from before the Blue Fairy and the magic bean. He had to make sure that at the end of all of this, Lainey was herself again. No more sketches of the long forgotten past. No more sketches of a town she had never been too. And he knew that his father had been the one to do it, so his father would have to be the one to undo it.

Bae pulled to the side of the road so that he could look at his cell phone. He had two voice mails, one from each child. The first one was Lainey's happy little chirp.

_Hey Dad! I know that you probably caught a case or something, so I'll just make this short. I was drawing at the publishing house today and Avery got me a part time spot in the Art Department doing covers. Isn't that amazing! Maybe I'll be able to save up for that trip to UK. Call me when you get a chance. Love you so much. If I'm in bed when you get home, I'll see you in the morning. _

The second message also sounded joyous, which was a little odd. Lucas had a much more serious and cordial tone when talking on the phone. This once was casual and light.

_Dad, so Nadia and I are going to see if we can't catch a late night movie. There's that new action movie that came out. I'll be late coming home, so I don't want you to wait up. Lainey said she has some news for you, so you should call her. You're probably busy, so night._

Bae looked at his phone and shrugged before he got ready to drive north once more. So far, so good. His children had no clue that he was working on something far from a case.

0o0o0o0

Lucas hung up his phone with a sour taste in his mouth. He was a little uncomfortable with what he had just been asked to do. His sister's plan was a pretty solid one, but it was built on a lie. They had to call their dad, and let him think that they were okay, that they had plans in D.C.

He looked up when Lainey came stomping down the stairs with a fully packed suitcase and backpack. Blowing out a sigh, he moved towards the stairs and patted his sister on the shoulder before he moved to his room. He had to pack a bag, and he had to prepare for an unknown amount of time chasing their father. It was the best thing. Lainey was worried, and while he didn't want to admit it, so was Lucas.

It felt right to follow their father. But it felt wrong to lie. Even if he was lying to them. The act of omitting something is a lie isn't it. He pushed his door open and moved to the closet. He pulled a large duffel bag out and tossed it on the bed. He blew out a sigh as he yanked shirts off of hangers.

"Lucas, hurry up!" Lainey yelled up at him. "Avery and Nadia will be back soon with their bags!"

"I know! Storybrooke can wait fifteen minutes more!"

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Okay. So it's been a while. And there's a big reason for that. The last weeks leading up to my finals were filled with project after project. The day after finals I was on my way to see my grandmother and other family for Christmas. I didn't write at all during this time. I spent it with my Uncle who will be serving on a Navy ship for the next nine months. So amidst school and family, the chapter has been in a state of near completion. But it's done now. Thank you all for being patient while I work on the updates.

I'll be trying to work with canon as much as possible, but some things will just have to change. So I hope you're okay with that.

Please leave a review and thank you for reading.


	7. Chapter Six

Author: Ren Kayashima

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time belongs to the creative team of Horowitz and Kitsis. Thank them for such a compelling show.

0o0o0o0

Chapter Six:

He hadn't expected to find the store front so easily. After so many hours of driving, he felt tired, but he had to get this done. He was determined to get in and get out. This was something he had learned after years of working in the police. He couldn't afford to spend too much time in a town so heavily riddled with magic, especially if his father was one with magic. Bae had to remind himself what was at stake: his daughter. His Lainey was in trouble because of something that his father had done.

Bae sat in his car looking at the pawnshop. He had been watching it for the past half hour. What he wanted more than anything was to walk in and demand that Rumplestiltskin revoke whatever spell he had cast on his daughter. But to go in would mean confronting someone of insurmountable power. That person was his father. Try as he might, he couldn't ignore a bond like that. Before the ogre wars, before his father had become the Dark One, he was a normal spinner who would do anything to make sure his son lived a comfortable life. He was the father that cared for him when his mother left.

Bae sank down in his seat when he saw a young brunette leave the pawnshop that "Mr. Gold" operated out of. She was a pretty thing and he wondered what business she could possibly have with Rumplestiltskin. "Probably a magic spell," he muttered to himself. "But everyone knows that all magic comes with a price. She'll likely end up paying too dearly." Bae took a deep breath as he moved to leave his SUV. He grabbed his cell phone and smiled at the picture of his two children. They were jokingly glaring at each other and with playful smirks on their faces. They had the same Cheshire grin that their mother had.

Opening his door, he stepped out and rolled his shoulders. After hours of sitting, it felt nice to put his feet on terra firma and walk a little bit. He ran the speech he had been practicing in his head over and over again. He decided that this needed to stay civil and it needed to stay on point. He couldn't be distracted by any sort of nice family reunion that his father had in mind.

Bae looked around, making sure that he looked inconspicuous. His clothes were fairly innocuous, and he had left his gun in the car. He didn't want to draw attention to himself in a town with magic. He paused just before the door to Mr. Gold's Pawnshop and took a deep breath. "Come on, you can do this," he whispered to himself.

It took a couple tries, but he finally reached out for the door handle. He heard a bell tinkle above him as he walked inside, but he didn't look up. The shop was filled with trinkets, antiques, and toys, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was in the wrong place. Could this really be where The Dark One lived? It was overrun with items that he would never consider taking into his home. Despite the fact that he loved the old and less technologically advanced toys, he didn't see himself buying the two creepy looking puppets on a shelf. He circled around the shop, taking it all in slowly. This was the shop in Lainey's drawing. All of them had to do with his father, so this had to be where The Dark One could be found.

"Hello?"

Bae looked up and was met with his father's gaze. But he didn't look like he had just before leaving. His skin looked fresh, and clean, almost as if he were the simple spinner again. He didn't have that crazy look in his eye, the playful smirk, and the grandiose movements that came with a gleeful imp. No. His father looked like a regular person, and yet, he had power. The sharp suit, the polished cane, and the tall stature all indicated that this was not a man to double cross.

"Rumplestiltskin," Bae said, as he stood at his full height.

"Yes," Mr. Gold nodded as he smirked. "Have you come for something? I'm afraid that I'm drawing a blank when it comes to your identity."

"You would," Bae said, scratching his nose. "The last time we saw each other, I was fifteen. You and I had a deal, and you broke it at the last second."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mr. Gold said as he moved to fold his hands on top of his cane.

"The Reul Ghorm had given me a magic bean, and you promised that you would come with," Bae said carefully. He made sure that he was as far as he could possibly be from Rumplestiltskin. He expected this not to go smoothly. There would be doubt, and other emotions and who knew what that would mean. "You promised that you would leave behind a life of magic if it meant you got to be with me. You were supposed to come here with me, but you didn't want to lose the power you had been given. You let go of my hand at the last second and left me to fend for myself."

Bae watched carefully as Rumplestiltskin, as his father, changed right before his eyes. He saw shock, recognition, and pain. His father took a few careful steps forward with a hand slightly outstretched. But then Rumplestiltskin stopped almost as if something was pulling him back. The shop owner shook his head as he laughed quietly. "Not again," he whispered. He looked up and met Bae's eye, and suddenly Bae could see the glimmer of The Dark One once more.

"You won't fool me," Rumplestiltskin said fiercely. "Your friend already tried to make me believe that my son had returned. I won't fall for the same trick twice. You aren't Bae." He started forward, clutching at his cane tightly, ready to wield it as a weapon once more.

Bae looked around the store nervously. He had been in many a sticky situation before. It came with the territory of being a cop. The key was to remain calm, and to talk the subject down. "I am Bealfire. I am your son," he said quickly as he moved behind one of the many shelves. "I can prove it too."

"Oh, I highly doubt that. What are you going to do, call me "papa" again?"

"You stopped being my papa a long time ago," Bae said soothingly. "You're my father, my dad. I had a mother, Milah. She left when I was just a small boy, but before she did, she gave me a necklace. You have one too. We would wear them all the time before I turned fourteen."

"Where is this necklace now?" Rumplestiltskin said, pausing only for a moment. He eyed his guest suspiciously, but his confidence wavered slightly.

"My daughter wears it for protection." Bae answered after a minute of silence. He knew that he had to say it. His entire speech had crumbled the minute his father doubted his true identity. He couldn't give a speech now even if he wanted to. Bae reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, turning on the screen. He put the phone on the empty space of the shelf that protected him. "Look, you can see it around her neck. It's just like the one you have, same markings and everything. It was supposed to protect us from danger, remember?"

Rumplestiltskin kept his eyes on Bae as he reached for the phone. Lifting it up slowly, The Dark One didn't take his eyes off Bae until the last possible second. He stared at the two teenagers that glared at each other. Bae knew exactly when his father had spotted the necklace because suddenly the man before him changed again to the pleasant shop owner and not the angry imp. Rumplestiltskin looked up at Bae.

"You're really here," Rumplestiltskin said quietly, putting the phone back on the shelf. "You're here, and you have children."

Bae pulled his phone back toward him and took a brief glimpse of his phone before stuffing it back in his pocket. He nodded and reminded himself that he was there on business. "Only because you tried to force me here," he said. He looked around the shop. "I knew exactly when magic arrive here. I could feel it all the way in D.C. I tried to stay away. I was successful too, until now."

"Bae," Rumplestiltskin started, but he closed his mouth when he saw the look that Bae was giving him.

"What did you do to my daughter?" Bae asked. He kept his tone even and hard. "She was fine until two weeks ago, and now she's drawing pictures of a town she's never even been too. She drew my mother even though I never told her what my mother looked like. She drew your face!" he started yelling, unable to contain the anger that welled up inside of him.

"Bae, I only cast a spell to bring you here," Rumplestiltskin said, wondering where his plan could have possibly gone wrong.

"It did more than that then!" Bae yelled. He was on the brink of pure rage. A protective instinct to keep his children safe had overwhelmed him the minute he found out. "I didn't want my children to know about you. I didn't want them to know about the terrible things you have done! You should know! Magic comes with a price, and that price was my daughter!"

Rumplestiltskin stood in the middle of the shop muttering to himself. While he looked hurt, he was still clearly thinking about where his magic went wrong. He looked at Bae in realization. "She wears your necklace," he said. "I cast the spell on its twin in order to draw you here. That means that your daughter was the one the magic touched. You're not here because of the magic; you're here because of her."

Bae turned his back to Rumplestiltskin and clenched his fists. "Why couldn't you have left things alone? You managed just fine without me. After all, you're The Dark One." His voice wavered slightly.

"Bae, you're my son," Rumplestiltskin said. He hobbled over to Bae so that he could get a better look at the grown man before him. "I came to this world to find you. To say that I'm sorry. Sorry for letting go. Sorry for breaking our deal."

Bae turned to face him and shook his head. "I have a life here. I had a wife, and I have my kids. I accepted that you couldn't leave power behind," he said as he managed to get his anger under control. "I didn't ever think you would come here."

"I did!" Rumplestiltskin said quickly. He reached out and put a hand on his son's shoulder. "I'm here, Bae."

Bae backed up and stood up straighter. "I didn't come here to reunite," he said coolly. He was going to lay it all out on the table. He gave his father a hard stare. "I need you to take the spell you cast off of my daughter. I don't want her to know of magic. I don't want her to know about you or my past in our world. I need you to do this."

Rumplestiltskin stuttered as he tried to come up with something to say. He shifted his gaze between his son and the floor, never staring at either for very long. "I can try," he finally said. He started muttering to himself as he thought about all the spells deep within his memory banks. He walked around the room and paused slightly, looking at Bae with a small smile. "Tell me about them," he said quickly. "Your children. Two, right? I always wanted another child."

Bae clenched his fists and tried in vain not to soften slightly at the way his father spoke. There wasn't the slightest trace of a dark and powerful magician. There was just a spinner who had lost his son for a long time. He smiled slightly as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "They're great. Lucas is my son. He's a bit of a techno braniac, at least that's what everyone calls him. He likes gadgets, codes, new tech toys, stuff like that," Bae explained. He took a few deep breaths and smiled as he thought about his kids. "Lainey, my daughter, she's not a bit like him. They're twins, but she's classic. She works at a publishing firm as an editor. She likes books, writing them or reading them. She's an artist too. She draws occasionally. More now that your spell was cast. I don't think I've seen so many sketches in her books."

Rumplestiltskin smiled before he moved around the shop, muttering some more. He looked at Bae with a frown. "I might not be able to do what you asked," he said when he finished. He looked around and waved a finger about. "I once took away a young princess' love for her prince charming. It erased her true love from her mind, but in the process it took something very important away from her." He looked at Bae carefully. "As you know-"

"All magic comes with a price," Bae muttered contemptuously. "What happened to the princess?"

Rumplestiltskin rubbed his chin and took a deep breath. "She lost all of her love in the process of forgetting her true love," he answered. He shook his head. "I could take away her memories of our past, but the spell could take away more as its price. Those memories are your early years; she could forget you all together." He paused and looked around the shop. "It depends on if you're willing to take the risk of her losing all her memories of you."

Bae felt like he had just been sucker punched in the stomach. Lainey could possibly forget him? He wouldn't be able handle that. He had suffered too much loss as it was after Colby died. To lose his daughter because she didn't even know who he was, it was too much of a risk. He turned his back to his father as his head swam in confusion. "I need to think."

Rumplestiltskin nodded. "Of course," he said. "I could make you some tea."

Bae nodded. "I need to grab something from my car," he said. He wanted to make a call to check in with Lainey and Lucas, but he didn't want to do it with his father present. He already was in trouble for talking about his children. He got caught up in the gentle spinner act, and he knew it. Rumplestiltskin was still The Dark One.

Bae pushed open the door, moving quickly with his head bent down to avoid the gaze of any of the townsfolk. As he approached the hood of his car, he was met with a pair of bright green Converse All Stars. It was a familiar pair with the white rubber featuring a garden drawn in a rainbow of sharpies.

Bae looked up and found his daughter smiling at him slyly. Her arms were crossed and an eyebrow raised. She stood in between Lucas and Avery. Nadia jumped forward and hugged Bae.

"Papa Fairchild!" Nadia cheered. "You're alive!"

Bae hugged Nadia lightly but didn't once take his eyes off of his children. What were they doing here. How did they know he had come to Storybrooke.

"Surprise!" Lainey exclaimed throwing her arms out. "We followed you!"

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Hey guys! I have a new chapter for you. I really wanted this chapter to focus on Bae and on his interaction of his father. This scene is a little… um well I don't know. In my head, Bae would try to be mad at his father because his daughter was changed by magic, but he also cared a great deal for his father, despite being abandoned. You can't forget family bonds easily, and I think that's the way I wanted to write this scene, and I hope it worked out that way.

Any typos or errors I've made, please feel free to mention them to me. I'm bound to miss something in my read through.

Leave me a review if you get a chance. I'd really like to hear what you think about the reunion.

Ren


	8. Chapter Seven

Author: Ren Kayashima

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time belongs to the creative team of Horowitz and Kitsis. Thank them for such a compelling show.

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Chapter Seven:

Lainey lifted herself up onto the hood of her father's car as she kept a small smile on her face. She clapped her hands together before rubbing some warmth into them. There was a small nip in the air, something that was typical of regions up north. She looked around, ignoring the astonished look on Bae's face. "Charming little town isn't it?" she asked, crossing her ankles as she leaned forward ever so slightly.

"I can't imagine why you didn't bring us along?" Lucas stated snidely. He crossed his arms angrily and tapped his food against the cracked asphalt.

"You followed me?" Bae asked, almost in a whisper. "What do you mean? How?"

Avery stepped away from Lainey and Lucas and bit at his thumb nail. He looked ready to speak, but he kept his mouth shut, looking anywhere but at Bae and his children.

"It was all Lainey," Lucas answered, waiving a hand around. "She put the pieces together. Your strange mutterings about Storybrooke, your peculiar mood. She was suspicious, so she looked into it. Turns out you didn't clear your internet history after you looked up directions to this place. Though, we really didn't need it."

Lainey studied her father's face as Lucas revealed their plan. How they had found the house empty and how manic Lucifer was acting. He told their father how they made a plan to follow their father to Maine with the intention of finding out what was going on. Avery and Nadia came along because they didn't want to be left out of the adventure. Everyone took turns driving all the way up, limiting the number of breaks. It was all very clever, and the entire time, Lainey could see her father's look of disbelief change into terror and then anger.

"You aren't supposed to be her!" Bae exclaimed. He threw his arms around wildly as he looked from his son and then to his daughter. "You should be back home where you belong."

"Where we belong is with our father," Lainey said stiffly. She crossed her arms as she narrowed her eyes, challenging her father to come up with a better argument. She had prepared for this. She knew that something was up. She could feel that there was more going on under the surface. This wasn't just some case her father was working on. It was deeply personal, and he didn't want his kids involved. But they were a family. They worked through things together. She wasn't about to let her father of all people ignore that vital concept. If they could get through the death of their mother, then they could get through anything. That was the way it worked.

"Lainey, you can't be here," Bae said, he turned to Lucas. "You all need to go."

"This is because of Lainey's sketchbook isn't it," Nadia cut in. She moved so that she was standing just a couple steps in front of Lucas. "Something in it had you spooked. What's here in Storybrooke, Papa Fairchild?" Nadia kept her tone calm and she didn't make any movements that could be construed as an attack.

Lainey nodded, very much wanting an answer as well. Mostly she was concerned with the fact that she had never been to this town and yet had sketches of its architecture in a book. Sketches that she drew from a dream. She wondered if this was something resurfacing from her childhood, but she easily scratched that possibility off the short list. "What's going on, Dad?" she asked.

Lainey glanced over her father's head when she saw the door to the Pawnshop open. Her eyes widened when she saw her own version of Rumplestiltskin step out into the open. He walked with a cane and he had a fleeting smile on his lips. She turned to Avery and saw that he had come to the same realization she had. Rumplestiltskin was a real man. Her sketch was of a real person. "How?" she started.

"Bae?" Mr. Gold smiled, pausing slightly. "The tea is done."

Lainey hopped off the hood of her father's car and looked at Avery. "You see him too, right?"

"He's not as slimy looking as your sketches led me to believe," Avery answered, never looking away from Rumplestiltskin. He snapped his head in Lainey's direction as she walked forward. "What are you doing?"

She stopped when she was in the middle of the road ignoring her father's urgent protests. She was only ten feet away from Rumplestiltskin. She tilted her head to the side as she tried to remember something from her past that would show she had met this man before and that's why she used his face to draw a picture. "Do I know you?" she asked in a barely audible murmur. She didn't want to speak too loud as something inside of her withdrew slightly as if it needed to be shielded. She should be afraid of this man, he mind screamed at her. She shouldn't be talking to him, but another part, the curious side, the side that wanted to know all and experience all kept urging her to ask questions.

Bae looked at his father and frowned. "Lainey, sweetie, come here," he said. He held his arms out, beckoning his daughter, but she kept looking at Rumplestiltskin. "Lainey!" This time he was much more serious and quick.

Lainey looked at her father and smiled. "Who is he?" she asked simply almost as if she was a little girl again who didn't know about politeness, and asking too many questions. "I mean, clearly he's someone you know, but I don't know him. At least I can't remember knowing him, and somehow I have sketches of him. So I must know him. How can someone draw another person they don't even know? But if I knew him, surely you wouldn't have run off in secret to meet with him, you would have just told Lucas and I where you were off to. So the question then becomes why are you here with him, and why was it so important that your children not know?" As she spoke moved her fingers around like she conducting an orchestra from one beat to another, but instead she moved to another question or statement.

"Those are all really good questions," Lucas piped up taking calculating strides to stand by his sister. He gave Bae a challenging look. "Things are just the slightest bit freaky right now, and I'm not sure I'm cool with that."

Lainey rolled her eyes as she turned to face Rumplestiltskin once more. "Why does my overactive imagination want to turn you into the evil little imp Rumplestiltskin? Did you read the story to me when I was a baby like my mom did, or am I just suffering from hallucinogenic flashback courtesy of a head injury?"

"Sassy today, aren't we," Nadia muttered just loud enough for Lainey to hear.

"Lainey, there's a diner down the street, please go there with your brother, and I'll be there shortly," Bae said walking over to Lainey. He kept his father in his sights as he tapped her shoulder. He gave Lucas a short, commanding stare that told the son not to disobey.

"I want answers, Dad," Lucas said angrily. "Lainey passes out in the woods; you go all coocoo for cocoa puffs. I don't need to be an orphan because you did something stupid."

Lainey stepped away from her dad and pushed Lucas towards their SUV that was parked at the end of the road. More than anything she wanted to get to her sketchbook and look at it. See if she could put her sketches in some sort of order to make sense of everything. "Come on, Lucas, you'll get your answers and I'll get mine, but Dad's not going to do it unless it's on his terms," she muttered. She gave Rumplestiltskin one last look as she felt her brother relent and walk towards the car. She was just waiting for something like this to blow up in her face.

As soon as Lainey was close to the car, she could see her father as he gestured to the pawn shop. She had to wonder why he was in such rush to get the older man out of the public eye and why he was sending his children away. She tried to ignore the small growl that came from her stomach. She didn't want to admit how hungry she was. After several hours in the car, snacking on crackers and juice boxes, she wanted a real meal, with real calories, and real carbs.

Granny's diner wasn't very far away. They had seen it on their way into town, and Lainey knew that a diner was likely the best way to get any sort of normal food in a small destination town like this. She hadn't seen anything else, and she was perfectly fine with that. Food was food, and if it was a nice juicy burger, she would be perfectly happy.

"Are you going to bring Lucifer?" Lucas asked Lainey as she opened the back door of the SUV.

Lainey grabbed her shoulder bag with the sketchbook and scratched a happy Lucifer behind his ears before grabbing his leash and clipping it to his collar. Nodding, Lainey pulled the Newfoundland out and guided him to the sidewalk. "I don't like the feel of this town; maybe they'll take pity on me and let him in."

"You picked up on it too," Avery muttered, crouching down to look Lucifer in the eyes. "I think I saw a dwarf glaring at our car on the way in. Creepy."

"What about the fact that Lainey somehow knows every inch of this town even though she's never set foot in Maine," Nadia added. "This town is strange. There should be more people walking around, and it should be more active, but I feel like the people are hiding from us."

_They probably are,_ Lainey thought grimly as she clicked her tongue a couple times. Lucifer stood at attention for a moment before following his owner as she made her way down the street. If anybody asked, they were four college students on a road trip stopping in to see some obscure family member that they only spoke to every once in a blue moon. That's how things worked in the real world, and that's how it would work today. The her father would show up and hopefully they would all find a place to have a nice, long, and most certainly private chat about her dreams and her father's peculiar behavior. It all sounded so pleasant and so serene in her head, she couldn't imagine it going any other way.

Lucas was tugged ahead of his sister by Nadia. Lainey's best friend was whispering soft words into Lucas' ear, and Lainey started to notice that he looked a little less tense with every passing moment. They had all been the slightest bit stressed on the way up. Trapped in a car for twelve hours listening to Mumford and Sons could only preserve so much sanity before some other distraction is required to cut down on the small talk. Nadia looked back and gave Lainey a reassuring smile as they turned in to the small courtyard of Granny's Diner.

Avery came up close behind Lainey. "This place is an exact copy of one of your sketches."

Lainey nodded, but didn't say a word. Avery was the only person who knew the sketchbook as well as she did. After all, they had discussed its contents, its stories, and the complicated web that surrounded Rumplestiltskin and fifteen year old Baelfire. What any of it had to do with her father, and the strange man in the pawn shop, Lainey hadn't a clue, but creepy had gained a whole other meaning when she started seeing things in town that she had only seen in her dreams. "Maybe I'm psychic and I didn't know it," she said as they climbed the stairs to enter the diner.

Avery held the door open and Lainey was careful to keep Lucifer close. She didn't want it to appear like she had no control over her dog. She had to make things look as convincing as she possibly could and she just didn't want to be without him in a town where people either glared at you or reminded you of an evil imp. If Lucifer so much as barked, she might be forced to separate from him and that wasn't a good idea.

Lucas and Nadia were already seated in a booth and Lainey didn't even need to look around the diner to know that all eyes were on the new comers. Lainey tried her best to ignore the tall brunette in the red scarf and hat. She walked by the red headed bespeckled man who was studying her and her companions with apt attention. She even managed to ignore the gruff looking man holding a pick axe as he glared at Avery. Was that the dwarf Avery mentioned? If so, he was taller than she had expected. Lucifer wagged his tail and looked around, but didn't make a move to lick the young boy's face who was seated in another booth with what looked like his father.

As soon as Lainey sat down, she clicked her tongue just once. Lucifer quietly sat by her place next to Lucas. Avery took the seat across from her and glanced around. "Me thinks they don't get new comers very often," he said quietly, lest he offend the noble townsfolk of Storybrooke.

"Me thinks you shouldn't speak like that in a room with a man holding a pick axe," Lucas grumbled, earning a jab from his sister.

An elderly woman walked over and looked down at the dog. "We don't allow pets in here," she said coolly.

Lainey looked at Lucifer and blew out a sigh. She gave a weak smile to Lucas as she grabbed the leash. "I'll go wait in the car," she said, deciding that arguing would just be a futile effort. This Granny was unyielding and her steely gaze made her think of a wolf on the prowl. "Can someone please get me a burger or something that isn't juice boxes and crackers?" she asked.

"I'll handle it," Nadia said with a nod.

As Lainey was on her way to the door, the tall dwarf moved into her line of sight. "I haven't seen you around her before." He attempted to hide a sneer, but Lainey grimaced.

Lainey gave the man her best smile. "That's because I'm not from around here," she answered simply. She clicked her tongue to move Lucifer forward once more and found the Dwarf block her way.

"Where are you from?" he asked coldly.

"You're making me feel really uncomfortable, and seeing as I have the large dog, I suggest, you cease what you're doing," Lainey stated blowing out a sigh. She continued on her path to the door and didn't even stop when the man grew red in the face and approached her once more. When she felt someone touch her she whipped around and pushed away the man.

"Look!" she yelled, jabbing a finger into the man's shoulder. She could feel herself falling apart mentally. It had been a long drive, and now she had so many questions, and was met with rather rude people. Why had she even thought this would be a good idea? "I have spent the last twelve hours in a car trying to figure out why my father left my brother and me without so much as a phone call. I have sketches of a town and people I have never once come across in my entire life and wild stories to go with them, so unless you want me to have a mental breakdown in the middle of this diner you will-"

"Lainey!" Bae yelled as he stepped into the diner.

Lainey turned to look at her dad as felt her eyes sting with tears. She tried to rub them away when she saw Mr. Gold behind her father, looking shocked and slightly pained. Lainey shook her head and pushed past her father as he stuttered to speak. She didn't need to push Mr. Gold, or ask him to move, he just did. He knew that she didn't want to be in the diner. She wanted to be left alone. She just need to breath in the cold, fresh Maine air. She no longer wanted the comfort of the diner or her friends and family. She just wanted to be left alone.

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Author's Note: It's the first day of classes and boy was that interesting. I'm taking Mexican-American literature on the recommendation of two of the most amazing people at my school. One an English teacher who once taught the class and the other, a lovely mother of two who helped me set up my Transfer Agreement with a university here in the state. I know I don't get around to updating as frequently as I should, but I'm going to try a little bit a harder. That being said, I do have to place a priority on my classes because this is my last semester before I move to a four year. I have to keep my grades up if I want to get accepted for the fall.

I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried to keep it from Lainey's point of view because she's the one that was affected by Rumple's magic. I'm going to try and do Rumple next time because I did Bae the chapter before. Its fun being able to switch the point of view based on the chapter, I only hope I'm doing it justice.

**Quick Note:** I don't know how many of you would be okay with this, but I do have a facebook where I post about updates on the stories and (mostly) my life. If you want to friend me there and ask how a chapter is coming, feel free. If you don't want to do that I have a tumblr, and you can find the link on my profile.

Leave me a review and let me know what you think. I love getting feedback. If you see a typo, let me know and I'll fix it. We're not all perfect.

Ren


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